The world of Tzu Chi April 2020 (Vol.121)

Imparting nuggets of wisdom in the classroom and beyond O n a typical morning at Da Ai Kindergarten Kepong, teacher Ng Boon Sy was prompting her young charges to choose their outdoor activity for the day. “Good morning, children! Shall we fly a kite or blow bubbles today?” “Let’s blow bubbles!” the four-year-olds chorused enthusiastically. “All right! Form a line and we’ll go outdoors for our bubble-blowing activity,” instructed Boon Sy as she led the eager children to the yard for their playtime. After the bubble-blowing session, Boon Sy was kept occupied with serving morning refreshments to the children. Suddenly, one of the students who had been unwell threw up in the classroom. Boon Sy swiftly responded by seeking assistance from a classroom volunteer to give the child a fresh change of clothes, while she quickly retrieved a mop to clean the floor before proceeding to contact the child’s parents and ensure the other children were unaffected by the incident. No matter the circumstances, Boon Sy is invariably able to keep a cool head and take unforeseen occurrences in her stride, promptly reassuring her students and restoring order within the shortest time possible. “I’ve been confronted with various situations over more than a decade of my teaching career. It’s all in a day’s work,” Boon Sy revealed with a warm smile. As a teacher in charge of the four-year- old cohort, Boon Sy has had to deal with By Yap Chai Hoon Translated by Choo Suet Fun preschoolers who have trouble adapting to a new environment. Many of the children, separated from their parents for the first time, tend to arrive at school anxious or tearful. Some of the young ones are still struggling to express themselves coherently, hence Boon Sy has her hands full attending to the needs of every child under her care. Managing a group of four-year-olds is physically demanding and emotionally exhausting to the extent that Boon Sy would sometimes experience nightmares. Nevertheless, the caring teacher remains committed to her students’ well- being. “I believe that a comforting embrace is the greatest source of emotional support and strength. Whenever the children come to school in tears, I would give them a hug and console them to calm them down.” Boon Sy shared that the first Jing Si aphorism introduced to the four-year-olds in classwas “The beauty of a smile is unparalleled,” encouraging the children to wear their smiles to school. At the sight of the preschoolers arriving at school with smiles on their faces, greeting her cheerfully, Boon Sy would instinctively return the smile and welcome them with a hug, embracing them as closely as she would her own daughter. Leading by example The humble educator confessed that there is ample room for reflection and improvement in her parenting style as she attempts to achieve a balance between preparing her eight-year- pecial Feature 2020 • 04 32